Retailers largely rely upon active demonstrations to present electronic consumer products and, particularly, audio and video entertainment products to customers. Such active demonstrations allow the customers to explore product features, directly compare products and match customer needs and desires with the available products. Accordingly, active demonstrations are very effective in facilitating sales of consumer electronic products.
It is also clear that any system for actively demonstrating consumer electronic products must also protect those products from theft. Further, such a system should be as vandalism proof as possible. These additional considerations cannot be simply ignored in today's cultural environment.
The present invention relates to the display and demonstration of camcorders. The camcorder has evolved into the product of choice for consumers wishing to record live picture with sound. The range of technical features now available in camcorders demands that the shopper be free to handle them in order to evaluate picture qualities such as detail and color rendition, screen stabilization performance, ease-of-use features such as focus and zoom and aesthetic values including weight. Further, since the trend in retailing is away from skilled sales staff and towards self-service, it is left up to the consumer to demonstrate electronic goods themselves. Accordingly, simplified display function is an essential element of any good demonstration and display system.
In order to provide the capability to demonstrate such a wide range of camcorder features, the present invention provides a convenient support for displaying the camcorder in the manner similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,205 to Keifer et al. More specifically, an upright cylindrical column is mounted to a base plate that is anchored or otherwise secured to a display fixture. A pin is secured to the base of the camcorder. The pin is removably held in the column so that the camcorder is conveniently displayed and also may be lifted from the column for inspection and demonstration of features.
While the display column disclosed in the Keifer et al. patent is quite effective, it does suffer from several shortcomings. First and foremost, the Keifer et al. display system fails to provide for automatic demonstration of the camcorder as it is lifted from the stand by the consumer. This is a particularly important feature in today's self-service retail environment. Second, the Keifer et al. display system utilizes a cumbersome product security system including separate mechanical and electronic security cables. This is a relatively cumbersome system that requires some extra time to install and can make consumer handling of the camcorder awkward and inconvenient. This latter problem is of particular concern since it discourages the customer from fully investigating the product thereby interfering with a potential sale.